'93 Legacy wagon - worth fixing up?

I bought this car a month ago and was fixing it up as it had only 54,000 miles and the engine was near perfect. The trans just went and will cost $2500 to rebuilt it. I have now $3,000 into the car. It has nice leather, factory CD, Ac is perfect, timing belt etc. replaced, Is it worth getting a new transmission and the car should be nice and reliable. Is it worth it?

I didn't check but I doubt blue book is worth that much. One thing to consider is the car as a whole. how are the brakes, body, interior, etc. Do you need to fix anything else besides the transmission? You won't be able to sell it and recoup the repair costs. How long do you plan on driving it, 5 years, 10 years, until it falls apart? If you plan on driving it for the rest of its life it is probably worth it, but only to you.

I used to have a 95 legacy sedan and the transmission finally went on me around 230,000 miles but it only cost me about 600 dollars to get a used one from a junkyard. Shop around different salvage yards and im sure you can get a transmission for much cheaper than the 2500 dollars you would spend to rebuild it. And besides that I would keep it because the engines are very reliable and generally pretty fuel efficient.

Just check it out for rust before you begin. If the body is sound you are good to go with a new transmission.

Also check out the brakes so that they are in good order otherwise it can cost you extra.

But you have to decide for yourself how much you want to invest in it.

54k? That's some seriously low mileage. Depending on where you live, if the car is also in cosmetically great shape, as well as mechanical, I'd bet you could get somewhere in the 3k price range for that. But, it's all in your location.

get a used turbo trans for 250-300 bucks. (i found 3 at that price)... install it for 500. 800 bucks and u drive away. i have the same car and im going that route.

Thanks for all the feedback. I decided to go ahead and put the money into the '93 car. I found a good shop here in Ft. Lauderdale and he actually will diagnose and fix my tranny problem. Right now, he thinks it is two electrical problems, one being a solenoid but analysis not complete yet. To answer some questions, it has 54,000 mi., interior real nice w/leather, CD cold AC. Engine runs great, tires old and dry rotted and clear coat is bad on top surfaces but car has no rust at all. I took it to the local dealer which I never do but thought they may be experts. HA. They immediately wanted to put in a new transmission for $3,600. I obviously left. They simply confirmed that I will never go back to them. I will post final diagnosis of the problem as it may help others with similar one. "Retgman"

get a junkyard tranny with low miles and have a home mechanic do it. might as well throw a new clutch in while ur at it. at that price it shouldn't cost more than $1000 parts and labor with clutch.

The tranny I have is an automatic. As an update, the binding of the wheels, i.e. tranny, on my '93 Legacy is finally being diagnosed as opposed to the dealer and others simply wanting to replace everything. So far, it appears to be a computer problem. Several tests have indicated so and the shop has ordered a used computer. I will know next week. It makes sense as the sunroof leaked when I bought the car and moisture could have accumulated inside to affect the computer. Seems that some of these parts are no longer available new in this age of throwaway cars. I will update next week.

Mine leaks from the sunroof as well. Apparently Fuji makes a replacement part for every car and stores them in a warehouse in Japan. Once a part leaves the warehouse they make a new on. The dealer wanted 1800 dollars for a sunroof assembly, minus the cost of shipping it to the States.

Still trying to figure out how to make that sunroof stop leaking without just sealing it up permanently. One specialist I went to said something about a "track seal" that had degraded.

47ka,
Hi. I found a good local trim shop about my sunroof leak. What happened was that the seal under the whole sunroof deteriorated. He took out the whole sunroof assembly and resealed it with material similar to the windshield sealer. It definitely will not leak again. If I had known that was what was necessary, then I could have done it myself. Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by Retgman

47ka,
Hi. I found a good local trim shop about my sunroof leak. What happened was that the seal under the whole sunroof deteriorated. He took out the whole sunroof assembly and resealed it with material similar to the windshield sealer. It definitely will not leak again. If I had known that was what was necessary, then I could have done it myself. Hope this helps.

You are correct. It's a common problem in many older vehicles, and unfortunately some people seal the sunroof up because of this, and ruin the life of it completely over something so simple to fix.

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtop...=asc&start=125

Pictures for reference are on page 6. It all makes sense as you take it apart, a real simple procedure. Probably the one thing I suggest is a helper to get the roof assembly in and out of the car. It's very awkward as it's coming down in your lap.

it's not worth fixing!! give it to me.

shtbxr22,
Good answer but I will fix it. Right now the Legacy looks like the problem is the computer. I am waiting for another one, should be here next week.
Where in N.H. do you live? My son lived in Manchester.

I would say definitely not worth it. For that price you could buy an entirely different car with no major problems to speak of. I bought my subi for $1400 bucks, threw some drive belts and a drive axle in it for a hundred bucks, a fuel filler neck for 140, got some snows for it for a total of 200, and I was ready to hit the road for another 50k miles at least (I'm at 152k right now). 1800 bucks for a reliable DD with working A/C. Cloth seats are functionally better in every way anyway. Good luck!